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Mecca and the Soul Brother
Mecca and the Soul Brother is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, released in 1992 on Elektra Records. To date, Mecca and the Soul Brother has been widely acclaimed as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. The album was mostly produced by Pete Rock and executive produced by DJ Eddie F of Heavy D & the Boyz (co-group member with Trouble T-Roy). Background Mecca and the Soul Brother ''followed on the heels of the duo's EP; [[All Souled Out|''All Souled Out]], ''released in 1991. Despite being a critical success, it had little commercial success in comparison to other noteworthy releases of 1992, such as Dr. Dre's [[The Chronic|''The Chronic]]. '' The first single "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", a dedication to their deceased friend Trouble T Roy (a dance member of Heavy D & the Boyz), has gone on to become not only their signature hit but also one of hip hop's most highly regarded songs. Other topics on the album range from life in the ghetto ("Ghettos of the Mind"), the teachings of the Nation of Islam ("Anger in the Nation"), bootlegging ("Straighten It Out") and love ("Lots of Lovin'"). Reception ''Mecca and the Soul Brother ''brought considerable acclaim to the duo. They were often compared to Gang Starr, which also featured one MC, and a producer/DJ. Although the album garnered a great amount of acclaim. sales were slow. The group only grew more popular, however, and next appeared on the ''Menace II Society ''soundtrack, followed by ''Who's The Man? ''and ''Poetic Justice ''respectively, before returning in 1994 with [[The Main Ingredient|''The Main Ingredient]].'' Track listing '''Notes' *Track 4 features background vocals performed by Terri Robinson and Tabitha Brace, and keyboards performed by Nevelle Hodge. Samples Return of the Mecca * "Country Preacher" by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet * "You're the Fool" by The Three Degrees * "Long Red" by Mountain For Pete's Sake * "The Rill Thing" by Little Richard * "Come Live With Me" by Dorothy Ashby * "Gimme Some" by Freddie McCoy * "N.T." by Kool & the Gang Ghettos of the Mind * "Ghettos of the Mind" by Bama the Village Poet * "Long Red" by Mountain * "Maceo" by Maceo & All the King's Men Lots of Lovin' * "Player's Balling (Players Doin' Their Own Thing)" by Ohio Players * "North Carolina" by Les McCann * "What's Going On?" by Ohio Players Act Like You Know * "Freedom Death Dance" by Eugene McDaniels * "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by George Semper * "Down Here on the Ground" by Grant Green Straighten It Out * "Bootleggin'" by Simtec & Wylie * "Our Generation" by Ernie Hines * "Chocolate Buttermilk" by Kool & the Gang Soul Brother #1 * "Bubble Gum" by 9th Creation * "The Grunt" by The J.B.'s * "Headless Heroes" by Eugene McDaniels Wig Out * "Turbulence" by Eddie Harris * "Jungle Child" by Johnny Lytle * "Music Talk" by Georgie Fame Anger in the Nation * "Talk to the People" by Les McCann * "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone * "Funky President (People It's Bad)" by James Brown They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) * "When She Made Me Promise" by The Beginning of the End * "Today" by Tom Scott and The California Dreamers On and On * "Ode to Billie Joe" by Lou Donaldson * "The Bird" by Jimmy McGriff * "Nobody Beats the Biz" by Biz Markie It's Like That * "Mongoose" by Elephant's Memory * "Strictly for the Ladies" by Lord Finesse and DJ Mike Smooth Can't Front on Me * "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps * "Where Do I Go?" by Dave Wintour and Pat Whitmore The Basement * "Expo '83" by The Backyard Heavies * "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy * "Rising to the Top" by Keni Burke If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right * "Trespassin'" by Skull Snaps * "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads * "Nautilus" by Bob James Skinz * "MacArthur Park" by The Three Degrees * "Down Home Girl" by The Coasters Category:1992 albums Category:Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth albums Category:Albums produced by Pete Rock Category:Albums produced by Large Professor Category:East Coast hip hop albums Category:Jazz rap albums Category:Golden age hip hop albums